Randomness is the Best Medicine (Pokémon fanfiction)

Hoennshipping - Final Stand

Desolation. Destruction. Despair. May watched the flames around her die down and the water slowly evaporate. She could see nothing but annihilated land and still bodies for miles.

Am I the only one left? she wondered. She struggled to her feet, her ankle screaming in pain as though the very bone was set on fire. She saw her Pokémon lying on the ground, conscious, but barely holding on. She hobbled as quickly as her ankle would allow her to her Pokémon. Blaziken. Sharpedo. Manectric. Gardevoir. Altaria. Mightyena. They looked at her as though all hope had been drained out of them. She knew how they felt. The same thoughts of hopelessness were coursing through her mind.

Too strong. Her team hardly stood a chance against the two legendary Pokémon of Hoenn, Kyogre and Groudon. How they got so strong over the course of a year while they were asleep, she had no inkling. All she knew was that this time, they were too formidable for her to even dream of going up against. The damage that she and her Pokémon had sustained was too great.

She rummaged through her bag and was grateful that she managed to find several berries and potions. Her Pokémon tenderly nibbled on the berries in her hand while she sprayed them with potion, all in silence. She watched the Kyogre and Groudon take their battle away from Sootopolis City to somewhere south of where she was. She had a feeling that there was no point going after them since most of the civilians were probably dead already anyway. Her goal now was to find her comrades in battle who were separated from her during the clash. She reached for a bandage in her bag and wrapped it tightly around her ankle, wincing as she did so. Once her ankle was properly bandaged and her Pokémon were healthy again, she set off to look for her friends.

Dust swirled in the air with every step she took, invading her eyes and forcing themselves down into her lungs. She coughed and hacked and wheezed, her eyes brimming with tears that she didn't bother to wipe away. She hoped the water in her tears would help somewhat get rid of the grime on her cheeks, though they probably just left tracks on her dirty face. She kicked aside debris and stomped on tiny fires as she made her way through what was once Sootopolis City but was now barren wasteland. She paused beside an immobile and mangled body lying on the ground and tears filled her eyes.

"Steven..." she murmured as she knelt beside him. She brushed away the soot on his face and suddenly imagined him when he was so full of energy and life, but then she remembered that he was gone and would never be brimming with so much energy anymore. The man was a mentor and friend to her. He guided her on her journey around Hoenn, giving her advice and never failing to give her a helping hand, especially when Team Magma awoke Groudon.

Maybe if I had captured Groudon that time, half of the destruction created could've been avoided, she thought, the regret threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn't bear to see the dead body of her friend any longer. She got up from her kneeling position and walked away.

She next spotted Wallace dangling on a tree branch like a rag doll. There was no way he was still alive and breathing, given his pathetic position on the branch as though his bones had magically vanished and the many scars that coated his once glowing body. Her heart wrenched. He was another good friend of hers. He'd helped her against Groudon and gave her access to the Dragonspiral Tower to stop Zinnia's plans. Now he was gone, as his emotionless eyes gave away. She tiptoed and shut his eyes so that he looked more like he was merely asleep in an uncomfortable position on a tree and less dead.

She passed by so many people she knew who all died fighting Kyogre and Groudon. Winona, crushed under a boulder. May couldn't bring herself to look at yet another friend's wrecked form. Glacia, who died from the strain of trying to control and command Regice who was nowhere to be found. Tate and Liza were still holding hands, even to their deaths.